Improvement in the mantjtacttjre of xroh asfb bteee



lH, lazessarzlm-m.A MANUFACTURE 0F IRON AND STEEL.

No. 94,997. lPanni-.ea sept. 21, 1869.

@anni @Mite unina sont HENRY ,n EssnMEr-u, OFVLQNDO'N, ENGLAND;

Letters Patent No. 94,997, dated Sqitcuber V21, 1869; Paten ted inm'lanil, March. 311868.

'mnovmmmr nv -THE Mmmrxctrnsor meer AND s'maszw- The Schedulereferredtqln'rhess'lleten Patent and making part 0f the same T o all towhom t'may concern."

Be it known that I, HENRY Bussmunu, of Queen Street llaee, Cannonstreet, inthe city of London, a

subject ofthe Queen of Great Britain,- have invented or discovered newvand useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Mullin-:ble Iron andSteehin the Heating and Melting of Meta-ls, and in the Machinery orApparatus employed for such Purposes;' and 1', the` said HENRY Bnssmmn,do hereby declare the nature ofthe said ix|ventio n,.aml in what mannerthesameisl to be performed, to be particularly described audfaseertaincdin and hy the following statement'theref; tliatsto say- It is weil knownto engineersnndlothelsthat malleable iron 'and steel that has beenrendered homo 'eneous in structure by fusion is much better .adaptedv orn 'variety of purposes in the arts than iron orsteel that. has notbeenso treated. v y

it is also ivell known that the process ol' pddlinglron, am] some otherprcwesses in which the metal passs into a granular, or more or lesssolid state,pale tionnd to remore s'o'mueh ot' the phosphorus, and.otherimpuritierI usually tinnnl iu combinationvith the cheap n'ndinferior qualities otpig-iron, as greatly to improve the quality ol themetal, while rendering such iron malleable. l

The extremely high temperatme, h oweven'whiehis necessary to bringdecarbonized 'or malleable iron or steel into a state of complete fusionhas hithertobeen a great har to the conversion of such puddled ormalleable metal into homogeneous iron or steel.

New, thelefbre, one important object sought to he uewmplishod by meansof my present. invention is a mole. ready and less expensive means offusing decarbonized or partly decarbouized iron or malleable iron orsteel, by meansof the combustion of solid, gaseous, or liquid fuel, insuch manner that the heat generated by theirA combustion shall beapplied in numerous [mwerlxl jets .or streams, as" from a number ofblowpipes, such jets or streams of lire, or gaseous, or fluidcombustible matter, in eombinntion'with atmos plier-ie nir, beingtbl-'ccd or driven in between or among the solid pieces of' metal to betsed, and into and among the partie-les of lluid metal derived fromtheir fusion, and into und among the particles' of any' fluid eurburetof iron that may he added to the charge of malleable metal, i'or thepurpose ot' facilitating lts fusie m, or of adding the necessary quautity ofearbon thereto, the thune, or n latters'employed to produceflame,

.being tbreed npwnnl into the metal through tuyeres ln a manner similarto that by which atmospheric, air is new forced into fluid iron in theBessemer proeessor timfmetnl may be fused by foming jets of air and jetsof combustible gases orllquid fuel 'either seluu'atelyor vnnhlned, luamong the pieces ol metal to be'ihsed,

and into any fused 4portion thereof', or into any carburet 0f iron thatmay be added thereto, and form part of the-charge. v

The rntalt'o Defused may beiput cold into the vessel or furnace tvhercits fusion' is to take place, or it4 may be previously heateto a red orwhite heat in any other suitable furnace, und which preliminary heatingis in most cases to be' preferred.

` Thefusion, howcrenof themetal may be effected n a gas or otherreverberaiory furnace, in which it may have been puddled, o r otherwisemore or less desar- .bo'nized or rendered malleable by employing, incombination with the 'heat oLsni-.hiiu'uaees, my improved mode or modesol' heating and fusing malleable'mett'tl by jets or streams ot' fire,lor jets of the gaseous or tinid combustible matters before referred to.

kBtn, although .I have show'n how my invention` may he usedn-eonjunction with other furnace-heat# new erthelessfdesire it 'to beunderstood that I prefer to employ, Torf the purposes oi' my invention,a vessel or lconverter, mounted onfaxes, the chamber for bumin'g solidfuel, or the chamber. in tv'hich the gaseous or liquid fuel is ignited,forming part ot' the apparatus, moving,r on trunnions,through or aroundwhich trunnious the nir andthe gas or liquid fuel are conveyed by pipesfrom suitable reservoirs.

1-And 'in order that the mode iu which l prefer w em ploysolid fuel forthe purposes of my invention may be fully understotxl, I have shown, onlthe sheet of drawings hereunto annexed, an elevation of an appa.-

ratus suitable t'or'that purpose at Figure l, and a. vertical s'ectinofthe salue at Figure 2.

The melting or convertinglebambera consists of au outer casing ot'plate-iron, 'b, riveted together, having a truunion-band, c, passingaround it, from which-'projects the -t-runuion d, and throughwhiehpassages are formed for the puupose of passing air-into the fuelchamberbelow.

y The melting-chamhcra is lined with gauuister k, or other reaetorymaterial, and is 'similar in construetion to the converting-vesselsnewgenerally used in the Bessemer process.

--Beleath the melting-chamber a is-the fire-box e,

which isiixed to the melting-chamber by means of the I tlaugesf. Thetire-box may also have a lining of gannister or lire-brick, g. 4

In the lo'iver p'ult of the tire-box a space, It, is formed by adiaphragm of' iron, having several nozzles or tnyere-pipes s' fittedtoit.

These tuyeres extend through 'the lining g, and con vey numerouspowerful blasts of air (heated or cold) ln among the fuel,.in .order topromote au intense-combustion, theair being conducted bya pipe (notshown). from the 'truunion d down to thelianged opening J communicatingwith the spaee 11.-.

An opening cr door on the side of the nre-box is shown by dots at ex,for the admission of fuel, and is. secured against the pressure of theblast by a faced meta-l joint and plate, or bya feeding-valve, such asisemployed in cases where lires are made in closed chambers;

There is fitted yinto the .lower part of the meltingvessel a tuyere ortuyeres m, made of 're-'laplumhago, or other refractory material. Thetnyere is tube replaced by a new one as often as required, by removingthe fireoox frornthe meltingLchamber.'

When a new tuyere is fixed some luting of clay is put on the uppersurface of the lining y of the lire-box, and the flanges f screwed home,which will secure the joint, and retain the tuyere m in place.

lVhen employing this apparatus, it is mounted on a frame, in which itmaybe movedon its axis in a manner siruilar 'to the ordinary Bessemerconverting-vessel.

A fire of good pure hard coke may be made in the lire-box, using bypreference a low pressure of blast until the heat and llame passingthrough the .tuyeres m have heated the melting-chamber a. A fresh chargeof fuel is then put in, and the box e is well filled.

The apparatus may then be moved on its axis until the'mouth a is in aconvenient position for the'introduction of the metal to be fused orconverted therein, and which may consist of steel or iron in. asolidstate, which has, by some previous process or' processes, been more orless purified, decarbonized', or rendered ma1le, able and diicult offusion, or the metal may consist f any ofthe qualities or kindsvhereinafter more particularly designated.

' I prefer to heat such solid metal to a full red or white heatin anyconvenient furnace, prip'r to putting it' into the melting-chamber,although it will be obvious that it may be pnt therein alone or with aportion of pi iron, euch being in a. cold or nnheated state.

hen the metal to be fused is put into the chamber a, a powerful blast isturned on, preferably at a pressure of ten to, twenty pounds per squareinch. The air at this pressure, passing through the tuyeres. 1-, willcause au intense combustion of tile fuel, and the heat and llame emittedtherefromwill 'pass up among the pieces of metal to be fused.

As non as the piccesof moulure/heated to'whiteness, or show signs offusion by the lemissionof sparks, the vessel maybe turned quickly down',and receive a charge of molten pig or other carburet of y iron.

' By preference, I employ grey hematitfe pi -iron, or a. mixture of it,and white spathose pig-iron. he metal 'so added may form one-fourth tothree-fourths of the whole weight of metal treated.

As soon as the fluid carburet is run into the vessel, it is again turnedup into the 'position shown in the drawings, the flame and heatedproducts of combusion will be driven through the fluid metal, and alsoin among' the solid portions of the charge, dldusing itself iu numerousfiery bubbles throughoutthe metal under treatment, raising the fluidportions thereof to an intense heat, butwithont rapidlydccarbonizing themetal, as in the ordinary Bessemer process, where pure air is used; andhence the accumulation of heat may go on until the complete fusion ofthe'y solid malleable coustituentsof the charge has been effected. l

If a larger quantity of pig or carbnret of iron be employed than issufficient to produce steel of the desired quality when united with vthemalleable metal which formed part of the charge, and also in those caseswhere it is desired to produce soft malleable iron,A4 air may beadmitted to the melting-chamber at or near the end of the process, byopening a valve, and allow; ing the air to be forced into the tire-boxat n, above the level or' upper snrlhce of the fuel, sodimm thence` passthrou h the tuyeres m, without having tlrst passed blast.

die fuel. he slr so admitted will rapidly dcprlvathe Msn metal of itsremaining carbon, anu at tnc sume time give an addtional'heat to it.

Vlhcn the whole, charge is in a. fluid state, it may be poured from thechamber' a. by tipping the' chamber on. its axis, as is well understood,the metal being received into a. casting-ladle, where an addition muy be'made to it nf some molten spiegcl-cisen, or 4ferromanganese, previousto running thc metal into mgulds.

Itwill |be obvious that any substances that are varporized by intense'heat, which it is desired to pass in the gaseous form through molteniron, witlra view to improve or alter its quality, may be put intothe-fircbox befor'qtlrecommencement of the melting-process, or may ceconveyed therein from time to time by thc It will also be understoodthat any substances which may be fourni useful, or that have hithertobeen employed to purifyor alter the quality of iron in other processes,may also be pnt into the melting-vessel in my improved process; but Idesire it'to be understood that I lay no claim to thc use or applicationof such substances, either in the lire-box or melting-:chamber of thisapparatus. lI desire it` also to be understood, that not only may suchmelting-vessel or converter-he employed for the purpose of fusingdecarbonized or' partially-decarbonized iron or steel made iu otherfur-'- naces or apparatus, but it-may be advantageously crnployed todecarbonize and purify the crude, or impure metal, which is afterward tobe fused therein, byiem'- ploying any of the methods now known orpractised, whereby irnpnre or inferiorpig-iron may be rendered more orless malleable, or converted into malleable yiron or steel, and in whichprocesses the metal assumes-a more or less granulated or solidcondition',

and, hence, requires the alter process offusion.

Then the vessel for melt-ing the` malleable metal lis also employed todeurrbonize, or purify the metal to be melted thercin,1 prefer toconstruct the vessel with two hearths,.ordivisions, as described -in aprovisional specification already filed by me in England, and dated the21st day of .llflzlrch, 1868, No. 967, and in acornplete specificationto the same, which was duly filed 'on the 21st, day of l September`1868, the second hearth of the vessel described in the. aforesaid speci.lication being provided -with a fire-box below the tnyeres, in lieu ofthe tnyere-box there shown, and which fire-box is similar' to thatrepresented in figs. 1 and 2 on the annexed drawings, so that the fusimof thegmetal treated v,with air and steam on thc first ralf ofthcconverting-vessel may be effected by jets of flame und 'heatedpmlucts'ofcorubustion, as ahealy described in respect to theilgs. 1 and2, in lieuof by atmospheric air alone.

When furnace-beat is necessary in any such .preliminary processes ofpurifying pigiron and rendering it.

malleable, the same may bcupplied by means of jets of fire orcombustible gases, as hcleinbetbre described, the, nal fusion of themetal also heilig effected by these jets of llame, or gases, or fluidscapable of pro ducing them. l

" The materials tobe fused .by my Aimproved merma,

'and thereby converted into homogeneous iron or steel, alone -or incornbinatlonwith a portion-of any carbu irets of iron, may consist ofpnddled iron or steel, in' its eavly, or granular, or loose state, or ina more advanced state of manufzwturc, auch as puddled bulls, blooms, orpuddled. bars cut luto convenient pieces. The materials may also consistof any semi-fluid, grauw ular, or more or; leas concrete malleable mctlust has been lobtained vby the action of nitrate of coda or .nitrateof potush, or by analogous or other substances containing, or cuprdnleof yeldin priygcn on coming in contact with luid pig-inni, an o(dcrlnmlzlng 'or 'rendering such metal lnore'or less mallerhlcwr therratcrluls :my cursist of, nny'lcrnl-lluid, granular, or mcr or. lesswww metal that preventthe fluid metaljiom entering the tuyeres, thequantities of air and combustible gases or fluids being so apportionedas to produce a reducing or oxidizing flame, as may be desirable fromtime to time.

Any of the gaseous 0r liuid combustible matters herein lastly named orreferred to may be used as compound -jcts with atmospheric air, or maybe used as separate iets with other separate jets ot` atmos "ericoir,such jets being so directed as to unite at a 3 not far distant fromtheir orifices, and be thus driven in among. the pieces of metal to befused, and into and among the particles of duid' metal resulting fromsuch fusion, or into and among the particles of any carhuret of ironthat may be added thereto.

T he mode of applying two separate jets, one acombnstible liquid orgaseous subst-ance, and the other atmospheric air, so as to unitefatashort distance from the orilices from which they are emitted, and thusproduce combustion, is shown in Figure 6 of 4the annexed sheetl ofdrawings, which is a cross-section'of alrevcrbern-tory furnace, in thebed of which an oblong double tnyere-block, H, is fitted.

A pipev coxnmunicateswith the passage I,A for the conveyance of gaseousor liquid fuel, having several tuyere-passages, J, point-ing upward intothe furnace. The passage L is in communication with the blastappamtns.

.Iets of air at N are conveyed upward at au angler,

to strike against the jets issuing from the 'opposite series of oriticesJ,so that the issuing matters may unite at as hort distance from theorilces, and produce a poweul flame among the pieces of solid metal tobe lfused, or among any fluid metal that may be present in the furnace.y

The matters to be fused may also be heated by a iire made at one end oi'the iin'nace, and passing over the fire-bridge O, and, beingreverberated down-upon the metal to be melted, the lire so employedeither resulting from the combustion of solid fuel in a regrate behindthe bridge 0, or from the combustion of heated air and gases in what isgenerally known as a gas-furnace.

`I would 'observe that when employing, in combinationwith furnaceheat,jets of air and jets of gaseous` or liquid fuel, to unite below theiluid or other metalto be heated, that I pl'efer to employsuch jetstoward the conclusion of the heating-process, so as to assist the actionof such furnaces, and render them more rapid, and for this purposeI'cover/overthe orilices of the tuyere-block H with some fire-clay andsand mixed together, or with some other fire-resisting material,previous to putting inthe materials to be fused; and when -the mattersto be melted have ac-v quired a very high temperature, approachingfusion, I then suddenly tum on the .blast and liquid' or gaseous fuel,which will blow off the luting with which theorices were covered, andcommence to further heat the metal by the energetic action produced bytheir combustion below the metal.

As soon as the whole of the materials is fused and blended, the metalmay be tapped out of the furnace and run into a ladle, and mixed withother metal, as before described. l

1 would alsoremark that the employment/,of jets crossing each other, oruniting only after having escaped ti-om their respective orices, is alsoapplicable to the movable vessels or chambels hereinbei'ore described. l

When gaseous, uid, or solid fuel is employed for the purposes of myinvention, I prefer tol use the atmospheric air necessary to supporttheir 'combustion in a highly-heated state. The gaseous fuel 'ma-y'falsobe highly heated by anyof the methods known and in use for heating airor gases; butif it lie-preferred, the 'gaa and air may both be used attho-ordinary temperme' A Part of my invention also consists 'n usingsuch jets of dame from solid fucl,'or jets of thune from the severalgaseous matters or fluid fuels before named, or compound jet-s orseparate jet-s of combustible matters and air, as hcreinbelbre named orreln'rcd to1'or the purpose of fusing pig or cust-iron, for thesir-feral purposes for/'which such metal may he uscd, either-aloneorwith siich `quantities of partiall y-rcfined or of malloable metal asmay improve in quality the castings made therefrom, or whichinay'rcnder.snclr molten iron better suited for the purposes for whichit ma) be employed.

{n n-ome cases it may he found desirable, win-u melting pig-ironia themanner' hcrciubcforcdescribed, -to'further carlmnize. the metal byemploying carbonicoxide or other gas in excess dnringlor after thefusion of the metal. y

I also desire it to be understood that air alone may be passed throughthe tu'yeres at any-stage of-theop Iera-tion, if found desirable eitheras a heating or dccarbonizingagent, and although 1li-ave hereindescribed my invent-ion as consisting'in the employment of jetaorstreams of fire, or jets oi'gasesor duid hydrocarbons and air,producing combustion by their union in o1' below-thc snrtiuze'ot themetal, l nevertheless do not confine myself to this .mode of introducinglire into the fluid metal in the'fforin of jets, as thc same or similarresults may be obtained. by dividing a furnace or vessel into two ormore'parts,.scparated by an inverted bridge or partition, the metal tobc fused oc cupying one part, and the combustible matters and -air beingforced into the others, from the lower part of which the fluid portionof the metal will be displaced by the fora-.e of the. injected matters,thetialne and heat passing up from, beneath the lpartitions through theduid, and among the solid portions of the meta-l in the other chamber;

A furnace or chamber suitable for carrying into op eration thismodification of my invention, is represented in vertical cross-sectionin Figure 5 of the an ncxed drawings.

' It consists ot' a square or rectangular sheel of iron, Q, lined withbrick-work or gaunister.

A fuel-chamber is formed at R, having a door at R, for the 'supply offuel, which door is secured by a' faced joint and luting, so as toprevent the escape of gaseous products therefrom. a y

At S 'S a-re blast-pipes, which convey air through two rows of smalltuyeres T, into the hiel-chamber.

g The melting or converting-chamber U contains the metal to -h'c melted,and which may be supplied through a door at- U, or it may be putin atthe opening U',

through which the sparks and products of combustion escape.

An opening, XV, stopped with loam, is alsoprovided, for ruiming ofi' themetal when melted.

There is an inverted fire-bridge or partition formed at X, beneath whichthe `flame and heated products of combustion pass' from the chamberB upamong t e pieces of metal to be fused, .and up through the fluid metalcontained therein. v

The fire thus brought into direct contact with or diffused through thefluid metal will rapidly bring thc 4metal up to an intense heat, andfuse and unite the whole, which may then be run ofi' and employed nldesired; and although l have herein shown the modo by which l cause theflame and products of combustion from solid fuel to act upon and enterinto the duid metal, without the employment of tuyeres for that purpose,I desire it-to be understood that this modifi cationy oi' my inventionis also applicable in those cau-.l where liquid or gaseous fuel jsemployed, and l would further observe that in some casca twotire-bridges in close proximity may be employed, air escapingfunnbeneath one of them, and gas from beneath the other, so as to unite,and, by producing the Tinian, ope; direct upon the metal,

'In some cases, also, it may ce thune dcsirabletoin troduee flame orcombustible matters in jets or streams, horizontally or downward, uponthe mass of r'uetal to be' heated oi' fused, in addition to the jetsforced up through the metal from below.

.But I desire it to'be understood that I lay no claim.

to the employment of such jets of llameior gaseous or,

liquid fuel when applied downward or. horizontally, or when not employedAto fuse -or assist in fusing malleable iron oi;` steel, -orother'partiallydeearbnzed or' uore or less malleable metal or cast orAother carbur'et o non.

Having thus described the'nature'of my said inveuother solid fuel, whensuch jet orjets of llame and products' 'oi' combustion are made to enteramong the said metal up through such portion of the metal asis 'moltenor becomes molten during the operation..

Also, the fusion of solid pieces of malleable iron or steel, or of ironwhich has been more or less decal'- bonized er yrendered partiallymalleable, mixed with Eig-or other carburet of iron, in a molten orsolid state; yJneaus of a compound or combining-jet or -jets of gaseousor lluid fuel and air, er a ,iet or jets of llame and heated pwductsarising from the combustion of gaseous or fluid fuel, when such jot orjets are made to enter among the said metal up through such portion ofthe metal as is molten or becomes molten during the operation Also, themanufacture of east-steel or east-malle-l able-iron, by fusing malleableiron or steel, or liron which has been more or less decarbonizerh orrendered pzutiallymalleable, mixed with pig or 'other carburet -of iron,by means of a'jet-orjets of llame, or of gaseus or lluid fuel and air,wheusueh jets are made -to enter among the metal up through such portionof the metal as is molten or becomes molten during the operation.`

' Also, the treating and raising the temperature of molten iron ersteel, by means of a" jet or vjets of flame, or of a compound orcombining-jet or jets of gaseous or fluid fuel and air, when such jet orjets kaie forced intothe iron or steel at the bottom of thecontaining-vessel, and rise up through the molten metaL Also, the fusionof solid pieces of malleable iron or steel, or of hun which has beenmore or loss decal;- bonzed -or rendewd partially malleable, mixed withaddition thereto.

pig; orotlier carburet of iron, by'the use, in the same vessel of ajetor jets `of llame, or of a compound or combining-jet or jets of gaseousor ilu'id fuel and ah',

and ajetor jets of air alone, or without fuel, such jet lor jets of'airalone, or 'without fuel, -beiag applied either before or aller the llameor compound or commospherioair, or by meaustof emnponud orcombining-jetsof fluid or gaseous fuel and air, when such jets aieforeed up among thepig or other matinal, se as to rise up through ythemolten portionsthereof as the fusion pmgresses. rSuch gaseous matters ,so injected mayhave au oxidizing, mrbo'nizlng, or ncutrallalne, as desired l Also, the.employment of .a jet' er jets of llame and heated pr nets ofcombustion, arising from solid, fluid, orseous fuel and atmospheric air,or ol' com-- pound or eombiniugjetsoi fluid or gaseous fuel and. air,when such jets are l'oiecd upward thmugh fluid furnace. Y

bet: attached thereto, for the purposes hereiubefore described.

Also, the employment 'of melting 'or'eo:ivertiu} vessels, having a.ooiulmstiou-ehamber or tuyere-box, arranged for the vombust-iou orcom'oj'aueo'iuto the metal of liquid or gaseous combustible mailers andatmospheric air, as hereinbelbre described. y

Also, the fusion fsf-pig-irou or other carburoool iron, orol malleableiron or steel, or iron iu amore or less decurbonized or malleable siate,iu flu-naces orV apparatus in which llame and pnnlucts oi combustion arepassed beneath an inverted lire-bridgei1-partition, aud thence upwardamong the lpieces of metal to be fused, or npwa-ldaml .uuong theparticles ol' any fluid metal arising ii-om the fusion ofsuch pieces-ofmetal, or of any molten pig-hou that may lusomployed in Hsu au BESSEMER.

Witnesses Davo. LoNusnox,

C'atford Hill, Forest Hill. G. F. WAunnN, Y

No. 17 (r'rawchu'rch Street, London, E. C.

n'ou or steel, contained in a gas or other ievcrbeiafoxy

